[jayman7]

I wanted to make some pens out of Hawaiian koa wood, so I bought a few blanks off ebay. I've never worked with Koa before, but the blanks seemed unusually lightweight. I read online that it's a medium density wood similar to walnut, but I can tell very easily that they are not the same weight. Here's a picture of the blanks:

So do you guys think this is really Koa?

 

[therookie]

I did a google search and that looks to me like koa but I am no expert on the subject

 

[richgreer]

I just walked down to the shop and picked up a piece of Koa and a piece of Walnut of about the same size. I would say, based just on feel - I did not weight them, that the Koa is just a little bit lighter than the Walnut.

I've used some Koa to make small boxes, but I have never turned it. I found it very easy to work with.

 

[jayman7]

Thanks Rich. I didn't weigh them either but the koa blank just feels SUBSTANTIALLY lighter than my walnut blanks.

 

[webbstan611]

I wanted to make some pens out of Hawaiian koa wood, so I bought a few blanks off ebay. I've never worked with Koa before, but the blanks seemed unusually lightweight. I read online that it's a medium density wood similar to walnut, but I can tell very easily that they are not the same weight. Here's a picture of the blanks:

View attachment 691542

So do you guys think this is really Koa?

I live in Hawaii and help identity wood species at a materials recycling business. It looks like the right grain patterns for Koa. The color is so shifted in the photo that you can't identify from it. It is not a heavy wood and describing it as similar to walnut sounds right.

 

[abie]

Koa is a type of Acacia and has the same characteristics